absence of bipartisan support for, 3, 191, 194, 197, 200, 237
attempts to defund, 231–32, 235
attempts to repeal, 204, 222, 231, 256
and conservative agenda, 222
and elections of 2010, 204
giveaway deals embedded in, 196–97
passage of, 199
problems with, 190–91, 194, 199, 200
and public opinion, 3, 193, 199, 200, 204
rollout of, 233
and Senate seat of Massachusetts, 201
and supermajority in Senate, 187–88, 189, 200
unified opposition to, 191, 192–93, 195–99
Afghanistan, 148–49, 177
African Americans, 30–31. See also civil rights
Ailes, Roger, 61–64, 66, 68, 227
Alexander, Lamar, 143, 236
Alfalfa Club, 138
al-Qaeda, 130, 166, 177
ambitions of McConnell
and Senate majority leader, 73, 134, 136–37, 152, 158, 212, 226, 239
and Senate seat, 39, 40, 50
and state legislature of Kentucky, 44
and whip election, 133–34
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), 194
Angle, Sharron, 205
Armey, Dick, 110
army reserves, 38
Ashbrook, John, 196, 248, 249
Ashcroft, John, 117, 119, 123
Aung San Suu Kyi, 242–44, 258
Baker, Bobby, 98
Baker, Howard, 147, 245–46
baseball, 15–18, 20, 132, 189–90
Bates, Hunter, 128
Bennett, Bob, 134
Benton, Jesse, 220
Bernanke, Ben, 170, 171, 175, 213
Beshear, Steve, 103
Bevin, Matt, 235, 240
Biden, Joe
and budget negotiations, 209–10, 216, 217
and Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, 243
and Senate rules, 237
bipartisanship
and Affordable Care Act, 3, 191, 194, 197, 200, 237
and expectations of voters, 256
and Senate, 2, 237, 252
Bloch, Julia Chang, 80, 85
Bloch, Stuart, 80, 85
Bloodhounds advertisement, 63–64, 65
Boehner, John
and budget negotiations, 207, 208–9, 210–11, 213, 214–15
as conference chairman, 110
and financial crisis of 2008, 170
and government shutdown of 2013, 232
as Speaker of the House, 205
Boren-Mitchell bill, 92–94
Bork, Robert, 46
Boxer, Barbara, 100
Braun, Carol Moseley, 100
Brokaw, Tom, 118
Brooke, Edward, 201
Brooks, Preston, 192
Brown, John Y., Jr., 53–54, 132
Brown, Scott, 201, 212
Brownell, Reb, 160
Brown v. Board of Education, 30
Buckley, William F., 28, 253
Buckley v. Valeo, 91
Budget Control Act (2011), 205–12, 222
budget deficits, 147–48, 205, 211
budget negotiations, 205–12, 213–16, 221–22, 231–36, 255
Bunning, Jim, 199
bureaucracy, 46
Burke, Edmund, 34, 49, 72
Burma, 241–44, 258
Bush, George H. W.
and elections of 1992, 73–74, 76–77
and Inauguration Day, 2001, 126
and “Mayor of Louisville” incident, 65, 107
party honoring, 80
and Persian Gulf War, 75–78
and tobacco farmers, 241
Bush, George W.
approval ratings of, 155, 176
debate skills of, 155–56
and deficit reduction bill, 147, 148
and election of 2000, 113, 119–21
and election of 2004, 155–57
final years in office, 160
inauguration of, 121, 123–27
and Iraq War, 129–31, 161, 165, 166, 176
leadership abilities of, 116–17
and McCain-Feingold bill, 150
and McConnell’s demeanor, 146–47
and nicknames, 132
preemption policy of, 149, 177
and Reagan’s death, 155
and Reid, 159
State of the Union address, 139–40
success as wartime president, 176–77
and Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), 171, 175
Bush v. Gore, 121
Byrd, Robert, 2, 111, 135–36, 189
campaign finance reform, 90–94, 112–15, 149–52, 253
campaigns
of Cook, 40–41
for county judge of Jefferson County, 47–48
of Emberton, 43, 44
enjoyment of, 108
for Senate, 40, 51–58, 59–67, 92
for Senate reelection, 73–75, 102–4, 175–76, 177, 218, 225–29, 241, 244–45
for state legislature of Kentucky, 43–44
and television advertising, 61–62
See also elections
Capital Gang, 113–14
Carlson, Margaret, 113
Carmack, Mary Gabriel, 189
Carmack, Terry
and elections of 1984, 51–52, 59, 60, 67
and elections of 2014, 244, 245, 248, 249
as state director, 106
Carnahan, Jean, 117
Carnahan, Mel, 117, 123
Chafee, Lincoln, 158
Chandler, Happy, 40, 50
Chao, Elaine (wife)
and Alfalfa Club, 138
and ambitions of McConnell, 238–39
and article from The Fix, 234
courtship of, 80–81, 84–85
and elections of 2000, 119, 120
and elections of 2002, 132, 134
and elections of 2004, 155, 156
and elections of 2006, 158
and elections of 2008, 179, 180
and elections of 2014, 240, 244, 247–48, 249
family and youth of, 81–84
and heart surgery, 140–42, 144
home life with, 1, 214
and Inauguration Day, 2001, 123
marriage of, 79, 85
and political attacks, 223
at Republican National Convention, 116
as Secretary of Labor, 127
and Senate Republican leader election, 160
ten-year anniversary of, 142
and terrorist attacks of 2001, 128
and United Way, 85–86, 116
Cheney, Dick, 123, 124, 148, 149
Churchill, Winston, 78, 114–15, 224
civil rights
Civil Rights Act (1964), 31, 34–35, 36, 72
and Cooper, 34–35
and Goldwater, 36, 37
Clay, Henry, 27, 252, 254
Clifford, Clark, 154
Clinton, Bill
and campaign finance reform, 92, 93, 150
declining approval ratings of, 109
and elections of 1992, 77–78
and elections of 1994, 202
and elections of 1996, 104
impeachment of, 111–12
and Inauguration Day, 2001, 124–25
and pardoning binge, 125
reelection of, following defeats, 203
Clinton, Hillary, 77–78, 184
cloture, 93–94
CNN, 113, 210, 249
Coakley, Martha, 201
Coleman, Norm, 184, 188, 1
89
Collins, Susan, 183
committee process in Senate, 238, 239, 255
Common Cause, 151
compromise, value of, 254
Congressional Budget Office, 194
congressional internship program, 29–32
The Conscience of a Conservative (Goldwater), 28
conservatives and conservative movement
criticism of fellow conservatives, 221, 253
discord in the ranks of, 253
and divided governments, 222
and education of McConnell, 28–29
and government shutdown of 2013, 233
and NRSC leadership, 108
and progressivism, 257
and Reagan, 71
and Senate Conservatives Fund, 204–5, 212, 219, 235–36
constituents, interests of, 34–35
Contract with America, 103
Cook, Marlow, 40–41, 42–43, 45, 53
Cooper, John Sherman
and Alfalfa Club, 138
courage of, 227
and elections of 1956, 22, 67
and Ethics Committee, 98
influence on McConnell, 33–35, 50, 71, 72, 101–2, 227
internship with, 33–35
margin of win against Brown, 132
racial-equality emphasis of, 34–35, 37–38
Corker, Bob, 158
courage, 227–29
Courier-Journal, 52, 56–57, 112, 136, 154, 155
Cox, Larry, 72, 74, 102
Craig, Larry, 133, 134
criticism, attitude toward, 154
Crocker, Ryan, 165
Daniels, Mitch, 65
Daschle, Tom, 123, 128, 176
Datillo, Pat, 59, 102
Dean, Howard, 156
death tax, 215
debt and debt ceiling, 50, 205, 206–11, 213, 235
deficit reduction bill (2005), 147–48
DeMint, Jim, 168, 204–5, 211
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), 177, 221, 226
Democrats
and campaign finance reform, 90–94
and deficit/debt levels, 205
and impeachment of Clinton, 111
and Iraq War, 161–66
and majorities in Congress, 161, 183–84, 185
and Obama, 173
and Obamacare (see Affordable Care Act)
as opportunistic hawks, 76
primaries of, 53–54
rigid ideological code of, 255
and Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), 205
and supermajority, 187, 188, 189, 201
and Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), 172–73
and youth of McConnell, 20
See also prominent Democrats, including Reid, Harry
deputy assistant attorney general, 46
Dirksen, Everett, 200
diversity, ideological, 257
divided governments, 202, 222, 256
Dodd, Chris, 124, 170
Dole, Bob
and campaign finance reform, 94
and Ethics Committee assignment, 99
experience in Senate, 103
and Persian Gulf War, 76
as Senate majority leader, 73–74
Domenici, Pete, 103
Dove, Bob, 93
Dowd, Maureen, 113
Drew, Elizabeth, 113
Drudge Report, 163
Dunn, Jennifer, 110
Durbin, Dick, 193, 237–38
education of McConnell
and congressional internship program, 29–32
law school, 35–36, 38
undergraduate degree, 26–29, 31, 33
Eisenhower, Dwight, 21, 22, 115, 203
election reform, 121
elections
of 1952, 21
of 1956, 21, 22
of 1964, 35
of 1968, 40–41
of 1972, 43–44
of 1977, 47–48
of 1980, 49
of 1984, 51–58, 59–67
of 1990, 73–74, 75
of 1992, 76–78
of 1994, 92–93, 94–95
of 1996, 96–97, 102–4
of 1998, 108, 109–11
of 2000, 108, 115–18, 119–21
of 2002, 132
of 2004, 155–57
of 2006, 157–58, 166
of 2008, 168–69, 173, 175–76, 177, 183–84
of 2010, 202–5, 219
of 2012, 212, 219
of 2014, 4, 218, 219–21, 225–30, 239–41, 244–45, 247–50
compared to Kentucky Derby, 108
primary challenges in, 219, 239–40
Electoral College, 121–23
Emanuel, Rahm, 185
Emberton, Tom, 43, 44, 189
energy crisis, 179
Enzi, Mike, 191
Ernst, Joni, 250
Ethics Committee investigation of Packwood, 98–101
eulogies, 189
executive office appointments, 237
Face the Nation, 98, 210
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), 156
failure, 253
Fancy Farm Picnics, 55–57, 178, 230
Feingold, Russ, 130
Feinstein, Dianne, 236, 242–43
fighting spirit of McConnell, 13–14, 56, 68–69, 226–29
filibustering, 93–94
financial crisis of 2008, 170–75, 185
First Amendment
and campaign finance reform, 90–94, 150–51
and “First Amendment Hawk” moniker, 95
and flag-burning ban, 95–97
“fiscal cliff,” 213, 221. See also budget negotiations
The Fix blog, 234
flag-burning ban, 95–97
Florida Supreme Court, 121
football, college, 1, 26, 78, 85
Ford, Gerald, 46
Ford, Wendell, 57, 136
Foreign Operations Subcommittee, 107
Fort Campbell in Kentucky, 149
Founding Fathers, 90, 91, 96
Frank, Barney, 170
Franken, Al, 184, 188, 189, 192
freedom of speech, 90, 258. See also First Amendment
freshmen senators, 42–43, 70, 72
Frist, Bill
and McConnell’s heart surgery, 140, 141
as Senate majority leader, 136, 137, 152, 157
and vote counts, 146, 148
Gaddafi, Muammar, 149
Gates, Bob, 161, 224–25
Gingrich, Newt, 110, 231
Goldwater, Barry, 28–29, 36, 37, 72, 145
Gore, Al
and election of 2000, 119–21
as freshman senator, 70
and Inauguration Day, 2001, 124, 126
and Persian Gulf War, 76
personality of, 117
government shutdown of 2013, 231–36
Gramm, Phil, 70, 71, 108, 222
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act (1985), 71
Grams, Rod, 117
Grassley, Chuck, 191
Great Society, 36–37, 184
Greenspan, Alan, 159
Gregg, Gary, 135
Grimes, Alison Lundergan, 221, 240–41, 249, 251
Guantánamo Bay, 186
Hagel, Chuck, 110, 167
Harkin, Tom, 70, 237
Harlan, John Marshall, 27
Harris, Katherine, 120
Hauck, Meg, 160, 196
Hawkins, Tom, 160, 162
Hayes, Rutherford B., 12
heart surgery and recovery, 140–44
Heinz, John, 102
Helms, Jesse, 209
Heyburn, John, 189
Hicks, Grant, 27–28
Holbrooke, Richard, 188–89
Holmes, Josh
and Affordable Care Act, 196–97
and elections of 2014, 230, 245, 248, 249
and recording of staff meeting, 222–23
on resurrection of Republican Party, 199
on Senate Conservatives Fund, 236
House Judiciary Committee, 111
House of Representatives. See US House of Representatives
Huddleston, Walter “Dee”
and Bloodhounds ads, 65
and candidacy of McConnell, 51
concession of, 67
and debates, 240
and NRSC, 109
and polls, 53, 55
voting record of, 50, 55, 60–61, 62
Huffington Post, 212
Hulse, Carl, 167, 239
Hunt, Al, 113
Hussein, Saddam, 75, 129–31, 149
immigration, 116
Inauguration Day, 2001, 121, 123–27
Inside Politics, 113
International Monetary Fund (IMF), 207
internships in Washington, 29–32, 33–35, 37–38
Iraq War, 129–31
and elections of 2004, 156
and elections of 2006, 160
and national security, 163, 177
opposition to, 160, 161–66
and Petraeus plan, 161–66
and trip to Iraq, 148–49
Isakson, Johnny, 184
Jackson, Andrew, 121–22, 227
Jarvis, Libby, 160
Jefford, Jim, 128
Johnson, Luci Baines, 199–200
Johnson, Lyndon B., 36–37, 38, 42, 98, 176
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), 121, 125
Jordan, Vernon, 138
Judd, Ashley, 220–21
judge for Jefferson County, 45, 46–49, 50
judicial nominees, 237
Karzai, Hamid, 149
Katzenberg, Jeffrey, 221
Kennedy, John F., 32, 41
Kennedy, Robert F., 41
Kennedy, Ted, 103, 200–201
Kentucky
antiwar marches in, 178
Democratic primaries in, 106
and elections of 2014, 249
inspiring citizens of, 257–58
and racial diversity, 86
and reelection campaigns, 175–76, 178–82, 244
state legislature of, 43–44
Kerry, John, 155–57
kickback accusations of Senate Conservatives Fund, 235–36
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 30, 41
Krauthammer, Charles, 136, 190
Kristol, Bill, 136
Kumar, Rohit, 160, 210, 216–17
Lagard, Christine, 207
Largent, Steve, 110
Law, Steven, 74, 93, 109, 119
law practice of McConnell, 38, 40, 44–45
leadership, Cooper on, 35
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